---
title: Lesson and topic rules
description: "Drip-release lessons, require a video, a file upload or a minimum time, offer free previews and run live classes."
url: "https://truecommunitypro.com/docs/lesson-rules/"
updated: "2026-10-09"
category: "Pro: Advanced Courses"
---

# Lesson and topic rules

**Pro feature:** This page needs TrueCommunity Pro.

Every lesson and topic has its own settings. Open the **Lessons** tab, click the **⋮** menu on a lesson (or topic) and choose **Settings**. Change what you need and click **Save Settings**.

[![Lesson Settings](https://truecommunitypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/tc-lesson-settings.webp)](https://truecommunitypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/tc-lesson-settings.webp)
Lesson Settings

## Free preview

Turn on **Free preview** to let anyone open this lesson, even if they have not joined the course. Perfect for a sample lesson that sells the course.

## When people can open this lesson (drip content)

| Option | When it opens |
| --- | --- |
| **As soon as they join the course** | Right away (default) |
| **A few days after they join the course** | Choose how many days they must wait after joining |
| **On a date I choose** | The exact day and time it opens for everyone |

Until then, students see "Not available yet" and the date it opens.

## This lesson happens outside the site (live classes)

Turn this on when the lesson is a live class. Then choose **Where it happens**:

- **Online, on a video call** — like Zoom or Google Meet
- **In person, at a real place**

And choose if attendance matters:

- **They can go on with the course without any confirmation**
- **A manager must confirm they came** — students cannot continue until you mark them

To mark attendance, open the lesson and click **Manage attendance**. Tick **Attended** next to each student who came. Use the search box to find students fast.

## Finish rules: video, file upload or timer

You can add **one** of these three rules to a lesson or topic.

### Must watch a video

Students must watch the whole video to finish the lesson.

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Video link** | A YouTube or Vimeo link, or a link to your own video file |
| **Where to show the video** | Before the lesson steps (the rest stays locked until they watch it), or after all the steps are done |
| **Finish the lesson automatically** | Mark the lesson done when the video ends, so students do not need to click anything. You can add a short wait in seconds. |
| **Start the video automatically** | The video starts on its own, without sound |
| **Show the player buttons** | Play, pause, volume and full screen |
| **Pause when they leave the tab** | The video stops if they switch tabs |
| **Continue from where they stopped** | Next time, the video starts from the same spot |

### Must upload a file

Students must upload a file — homework, a worksheet, a project — to finish the lesson.

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Allowed file types** | For example `pdf, docx, zip`. Leave empty for all normal types. |
| **Maximum file size** | For example `300M` or `2G`. A number alone means MB. |
| **Who approves the files** | **Accept every file automatically**, or **A manager approves each file** |
| **How many files they can upload** | The limit per student |
| **Let them delete a file** | Students can remove a file before it is approved |

See [Review assignments](https://truecommunitypro.com/docs/review-assignments/) for how to approve files.

### Time people must spend on this lesson

Set hours, minutes and seconds. Students cannot finish the lesson before the time is over. A **Time remaining** counter is shown, and it pauses when they leave the page.

## Points for completing

When [Gamification](https://truecommunitypro.com/docs/gamification-overview/) is on, you can give points the first time a student finishes this lesson. Use `0` to give nothing.